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Three-Star Recruit
So I'm bored and spend my time watching recruit highlights in my off time at work, and I'd be curious to see other's opinions on my sentiments so far this off-season.
If I had to rank our incoming RBs, I would go 1) Ameer Abdullah 2) Aaron Green 3) Braylon Heard
Here is my quick analysis of the each of the 3, having seen pretty much any film on them that I can find:
Ameer:
Positives: Exceptionally nimble in space. Runs with a very low center of gravity, has excellent short area burst. Completely ignores contact, seems like he's made of rubber (He's got a little bit of Barry in him). Good, not great, long speed (I'd say he's probably in low 4.5's, might hit high 4.4's on a good day). Exceptional vision to find a hole or cutback lane. Very good receiver for a RB on both short and medium routes, catches with his hands and can high point the ball to make catches against taller defenders.
Negatives: Doesn't have that 2nd gear to totally blow past defenders. Lacks bulk, very small bodied. Has a tendency to keep moving laterally, rather than vertically, which may lead to problems against faster college defenses.
Aaron Green:
Positives: Good long speed (4.4's), very efficient in his cuts with very good overall agility, little wasted movement. Focuses on getting downfield first. Avoids contact very well. Excellent vision to find the hole or make use of his downfield blockers. Solid pass catcher on short routes.
Negatives: Doesn't run through contact that well. He can shrug off an arm tackle, but doesn't have that "it" factor of contorting out of a tackle. Built more like a WR than a RB at this point, but has plenty of room on his frame to add good bulk.
Braylon Heard:
Positives: Great long speed, if he gets a crease he can take it to the house. Enough agility to get to the hole in the line. Good burst from stop.
Negatives: Runs high. Has solid moves to evade defenders, but performs them awkwardly. Often has his feet too close together, allowing him to lose his balance easily and go down. Built thin, not a particularly strong runner. Runs similarly to Taylor Martinez. Great vertical speed, only moderate shiftiness.
If I had to slot Ameer into the top 10 on Rivals, and re-rank the top 11 or so in my own opinion (a fair challenge given that I've placed him above Aaron Green at #8), I'd have the top 10 as follows:
1. Malcolm Brown - Great speed for a back his size. Absolutely punishing as a runner. Good agility, not great.
2. Devonta Freeman - This guy is like Ameer, but a little faster. Very similar runners.
3. Brendan Bigelow - Flat out astonishing speed. If I had to guess, this kid is running legit 4.3's in high school.
tie 4. Ameer Abdullah
tie 4. Mike Blakely - A lot of what I like about Ameer, I see in Blakely. I think Ameer is slightly faster, but Blakely showed his moves against better competition than Ameer.
6. Aaron Green
7. Savon Huggins - Looks great on tape, but did it against pretty mediocre competition in New Jersey. He looks the part (6' 220) and has great speed. He could easily top this list if he proves it against better competition.
8. Brandon Williams - Good speed, but he's a long strider who is tall and skinny. Needs to put on 20-30 lbs before he fills out his frame properly. Reminds me of a Daniel Thomas type.
9. James Wilder - I just don't get the love. He's got good vision, shows decent strength, but he bumbles through it all. Constantly looks like he is off balance and lacks good long speed. Not a game breaker, but could produce well if given lots of carries.
10. Isaiah Crowell - Repeat what I said about Wilder. Looks slow and plodding, but has the skills to grind out production.
If I had to rank our incoming RBs, I would go 1) Ameer Abdullah 2) Aaron Green 3) Braylon Heard
Here is my quick analysis of the each of the 3, having seen pretty much any film on them that I can find:
Ameer:
Positives: Exceptionally nimble in space. Runs with a very low center of gravity, has excellent short area burst. Completely ignores contact, seems like he's made of rubber (He's got a little bit of Barry in him). Good, not great, long speed (I'd say he's probably in low 4.5's, might hit high 4.4's on a good day). Exceptional vision to find a hole or cutback lane. Very good receiver for a RB on both short and medium routes, catches with his hands and can high point the ball to make catches against taller defenders.
Negatives: Doesn't have that 2nd gear to totally blow past defenders. Lacks bulk, very small bodied. Has a tendency to keep moving laterally, rather than vertically, which may lead to problems against faster college defenses.
Aaron Green:
Positives: Good long speed (4.4's), very efficient in his cuts with very good overall agility, little wasted movement. Focuses on getting downfield first. Avoids contact very well. Excellent vision to find the hole or make use of his downfield blockers. Solid pass catcher on short routes.
Negatives: Doesn't run through contact that well. He can shrug off an arm tackle, but doesn't have that "it" factor of contorting out of a tackle. Built more like a WR than a RB at this point, but has plenty of room on his frame to add good bulk.
Braylon Heard:
Positives: Great long speed, if he gets a crease he can take it to the house. Enough agility to get to the hole in the line. Good burst from stop.
Negatives: Runs high. Has solid moves to evade defenders, but performs them awkwardly. Often has his feet too close together, allowing him to lose his balance easily and go down. Built thin, not a particularly strong runner. Runs similarly to Taylor Martinez. Great vertical speed, only moderate shiftiness.
If I had to slot Ameer into the top 10 on Rivals, and re-rank the top 11 or so in my own opinion (a fair challenge given that I've placed him above Aaron Green at #8), I'd have the top 10 as follows:
1. Malcolm Brown - Great speed for a back his size. Absolutely punishing as a runner. Good agility, not great.
2. Devonta Freeman - This guy is like Ameer, but a little faster. Very similar runners.
3. Brendan Bigelow - Flat out astonishing speed. If I had to guess, this kid is running legit 4.3's in high school.
tie 4. Ameer Abdullah
tie 4. Mike Blakely - A lot of what I like about Ameer, I see in Blakely. I think Ameer is slightly faster, but Blakely showed his moves against better competition than Ameer.
6. Aaron Green
7. Savon Huggins - Looks great on tape, but did it against pretty mediocre competition in New Jersey. He looks the part (6' 220) and has great speed. He could easily top this list if he proves it against better competition.
8. Brandon Williams - Good speed, but he's a long strider who is tall and skinny. Needs to put on 20-30 lbs before he fills out his frame properly. Reminds me of a Daniel Thomas type.
9. James Wilder - I just don't get the love. He's got good vision, shows decent strength, but he bumbles through it all. Constantly looks like he is off balance and lacks good long speed. Not a game breaker, but could produce well if given lots of carries.
10. Isaiah Crowell - Repeat what I said about Wilder. Looks slow and plodding, but has the skills to grind out production.
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